clm-bepbbgd3fv

CEA (central amygdaloid nucleus) functionally connects to VTA (Ventral tegmental area)

Species: Rat
Result: present
Method: optogenetic circuit mapping
Sign: unknown
Evidence: Optogenetic ChR2 excitation of CeA paired with reward or shock-rod encounters was followed by strongly raised Fos protein counts in the ventral tegmental area (over 800% above baseline in the sucrose/cocaine group, over 400% above eYFP controls in the shock-rod group, mainly in the caudal VTA), indicating that CeA activation drives activity in VTA, although the effect may be indirect and behaviourally mediated.
Source: The central amygdala recruits mesocorticolimbic circuitry for pursuit of reward or pain
Nature Communications, 2020
DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-16407-1 · PubMed 32483118 · PMC7264246, Results, 'Shock-rod attraction activates mesocorticolimbic circuity'; Fig. 5; Supplementary Table 1
Licence: CC-BY-4.0
Named in the paper: “central nucleus of amygdala (CeA)” and “ventral tegmental area (VTA)”
Made by: an AI model reading the paper (claude-opus-5, extract@0.3.0), 2026-10-09
Checked by: a second AI model (claude-opus-5) agrees, 2026-10-09
“VTA Fos elevations of >800% (reward) and >400% caudal VTA (shock-rod) are reported as stated.”
Status: proposed
Drafted and checked by AI models; it stays proposed until people have audited a sample of such claims.